Summer reads
A new collection of our most beach-friendly articles
How better to spend these longer days than absorbed in a great read? Gathered below are some of my favourite stories. I'll add new ones throughout the season.
Our Mountain West correspondent shares four books (and a podcast) that explain America’s evolving relationship with fire. Pair it with this story from 1843 that takes you deep into the Australian bush to understand Aboriginal fire management. And for those who have already read Bartleby’s entreaty to “celebrate indolence” in your beach reads, here’s a closer look at the perfectionism trap. Why have we become so dissatisfied with being ordinary?
I’m in New York. Write to me from your part of the world (even if it’s winter) about which of our articles you're absorbed in this season, and why. Look for them in a “Readers’ picks” collection, coming soon. I look forward to reading them all.
Stephanie Studer
US Digital Editor
[email protected]
The Economist reads
What to read to understand Singapore
Our former Asia columnist on whether it’s a miraculously stable spot, or a dystopia
The best books to read to understand financial crime
Our deputy business affairs editor considers a boom in financial shenanigans
What to read to understand the history of Western capitalism
Our senior economics writer picks three books and two papers
Our former Asia columnist on what to read to grasp the looming crisis in Taiwan
The best five books for understanding a likely flashpoint
Our Bello columnist on the essential books for understanding Latin America
The seven books for getting to grips with the Americas
The best books to explain America’s debate on abortion rights
Four recommendations from our American social affairs correspondent
Views from elsewhere
By InvitationMalala Yousafzai explains why girls must be free to learn—and to lead
The Nobel peace-prize laureate is By Invitation’s first guest editor. She introduces her series on girls’ education
By InvitationSviatlana Tsikhanouskaya argues that Europe will be safer if Belarus is free
The country’s opposition leader says a Russian puppet in Minsk can always threaten Ukraine
By InvitationYemi Osinbajo on the hypocrisy of rich countries’ climate policies
Nigeria’s vice-president says they cannot demand more stringent actions than they will commit to themselves
By InvitationJohn Mearsheimer on why the West is principally responsible for the Ukrainian crisis
The political scientist believes the reckless expansion of NATO provoked Russia
Dive into 1843
1843 magazine | Fighting fire with fire: can Aboriginal knowledge save the world from burning?
Each year fires rage through the Australian bush. Victor Steffensen reckons he knows how to stop them
1843 magazine | Love in the time of Putin: the Russian activists who married on invasion day
They exchanged vows. Then they went to protest
1843 magazine | Mindfulness is useless in a pandemic
Living in the present has never felt more overrated
Gentle distractions
Origami spreads its wings
From child’s play to spacecraft, by way of mathematics and mechanical engineering
Explainer: How to do the most good possible
The “effective altruism” movement thinks it has some answers
How Super Mario became a global cultural icon
A pudgy Italian plumber who lives in America, was conceived in Japan and is loved throughout the world
On the ball
How to watch the Tour de France from afar
Cyclists’ epic three weeks of pain can be a TV viewer’s delight
How sport reflects America’s changing demography
Sports teams, like people, are moving south and west
The genius of Rafael Nadal
The Spanish tennis star’s astonishing domination of the French Open goes on
The rise and rise of Forest Green Rovers
The green football club that fans struggle to locate
World in a dish
Regional foods can contain multitudes of memories
The Maid-Rite sandwich, popular in Iowa, is a prime example
The joy of gardening
The crops can be delicious. But that is not the real point
Food for thought
Finding living planets
Life evolves on planets—and planets with life evolve. From a series of six articles on biology
The tragedy of Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a relentless revolutionary
One of Egypt’s best thinkers, the writer and activist has spent most of the last decade in prison
Hayek, Popper and Schumpeter formulated a response to tyranny
Their lives and reputations diverged, but their ideas were rooted in the traumas of their shared birthplace
Special report | The future of travel
Travel will return, more exotically than ever. But it will look different, both in the short term and the long term
In numbers
Tel Aviv is the world’s most expensive city
Supply-chain disruptions have pushed up living costs around the world
The Big Mac index
Our interactive currency comparison tool
Evergreen opinion
Bello: A Nicaraguan writer reflects on exile from a dictatorship
Sergio Ramírez’s new novel has enraged Daniel Ortega, the autocratic president
Bartleby: Why women need the office
Female workers should think twice before opting for more remote work
Lexington: A racial-history lesson from the son of a slave
Daniel Smith may be the last direct link to slavery
Free exchange: Just how Dickensian is China?
Inequality is better than it was. But it doesn’t feel that way
Defining the world
Explainer: How will the next Dalai Lama be chosen?
The spiritual reincarnation will have political consequences for America, China and India
Explainer: What is an NFT?
“Non-fungible tokens” use cryptocurrencies’ blockchains to sell original versions of digital artefacts
Explainer: Who controls the Arctic?
Russia is flexing its muscles as climate change opens up new possibilities in the north